Bitch Media - art historyhttp://bitchmagazine.org/taxonomy/term/4769/0
enIn the Frame: Artemisia Gentileschi, the Artist Who Broke the Moldhttp://bitchmagazine.org/post/in-the-frame-artemisia-gentileschi-the-artist-who-broke-the-mould
<p>My ultimate empowered female art heroine is a woman who made a career for herself long before the word "feminist" was in use. Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1652/3) is a force to be reckoned with, taught by her father Orazio and following in the footsteps of fellow Italian, Caravaggio. She stood out not only because of her incredible talent, but also the obstacles she overcame in her personal life to make a career out of painting.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6234/6319909461_de31b537e5.jpg" alt="Judith Beheading Holofernes: a painting of two women taking a man's head off with a sword" width="409" height="500" /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em>[Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Beheading Holofernes, c.1613-14]</em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Her most famous piece, "Judith Beheading Holofernes," was a reinterpretation of a Caravaggio. Many people (myself included) think that she surpassed the original and managed to convey much more drama than her predecessor. Artemisia produced several versions of the painting and kept coming back to it, working on the use of light and the dynamics between the three figures, whose story comes from the Bible. </p>
<p>Essentially, Judith is being helped by her maid to kill a drunken general, Holofernes, who is going to take over her home city of Bethulia. The very un-womanly violence is justified because the whole of Bethulia is in danger, and Artemisia presents Judith with a look of steely determination on her face, quietly getting on with the task in hand. What's unusual is the way that Judith is so involved in the action—she is not simpering in the corner or looking beautiful, as females often appeared in art at the time. Portraits of women normally showed them looking nymph-like and poetic, with a faraway gaze, a bit like an early predecessor of the MSN profile picture pose; if not, they were dressed in finery and the painting was for potential suitors or flaunt their social status. Yet here's Judith, fairly plain looking; she doesn't seem very rich and she's certainly not trying to attract a husband (well, unless you're the kind of man who prefers his wives bloodthirsty).</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6033/6320431448_d2dfec74b5.jpg" alt="Caravaggio's version of Judith Beheading Holofernes" width="500" height="366" /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em>[Caravaggio, Judith Beheading Holofernes, c.1598-99]</em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Taking a look at Caravaggio's version of the scene; it feels a little tame in comparison. Judith looks really uncomfortable and awkward, as if she's being asked to dissect a frog in Biology class. The maid who's assisting her is worryingly enthusiastic, checking out Judith's handiwork and gripping a towel (she's blatantly thinking, "Get in there,"), whilst Holofernes' expression is one of confusion rather than deadly peril, with a cartoonish spurt of blood. What really grates is that Caravaggio is world famous for his artwork—don't get me wrong, I'm not denying he's an incredible artist—but Artemisia Gentileschi can clearly rival him, and yet she's still not in the spotlight.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So what gave Artemisia the edge here, other than her realism? Well, it's widely believed that the reason she can make a scene of woman triumphing over man look so lifelike is because she was exorcising a few personal demons at the time. In 1611 she was raped by a fellow painter, Agostino Tassi, and the crime went to trial the following year. Rather than justice smoothly being done, Artemisia had her name dragged through the courts, as her rapist (who had been accused of raping other women) accused her of lying and had her tortured; he also accused her of sleeping with five other men, including her own father, and found defense witnesses to falsely testify for him. Although the official transcripts have been lost, we know that Tassi was imprisoned for eight months afterwards, whilst our heroine was married off to one of the trial witnesses to save her reputation. They separated a few years later.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6060/6319909659_91c30217c1_m.jpg" alt="" width="178" height="240" /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em>[Artemisia Gentileschi, Self Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, 1638-39]</em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It's fair to say that Artemisia Gentileschi was let down by many men in her life, and she wouldn't be the first woman to feel bitter about it. For her to find it cathartic to paint a woman beheading a man isn't really a stretch of the imagination, but neither should it be seen as a tragedy that her passion was fueled by trauma. The 35 artworks that have been attributed to her frequently show strong females. She later became the first non-male to join Rome's <em>Accademia del Disegno </em>(Academy of the Arts), which is an incredible achievement given the patriarchal society she lived in. Her self-portrait makes her appear confident, pro-active, and independent whilst being depicted as Pittura, the allegory of painting, who was also female.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The best lesson to take from Artemisia's legacy is that she survived a horrific situation, and that important work can come out of even the most oppressive circumstances. What's more, expressing yourself through art can be a therapeutic way of addressing your past. It may not be a career option for everyone, and you might not end up with a canvas worthy of Ms. Gentileschi, but it can help you to move on and feel liberated. Go get inspired.</p>
http://bitchmagazine.org/post/in-the-frame-artemisia-gentileschi-the-artist-who-broke-the-mould#commentsart historyArtemisia Gentileschicareerfemale artistsItalypaintingrapeArt and DesignMon, 07 Nov 2011 19:50:45 +0000Polly Allen13486 at http://bitchmagazine.orgIn the Frame: Great Artists Always Male? I Demand a Recount!http://bitchmagazine.org/post/great-artists-i-demand-a-recount
<p>Welcome to "In the Frame," a brand new guest blog that will hopefully give you some feminist-tinged insight into the complex world of art. Whether you're a fan of the Guerrilla Girls, you have a burning passion for Tamara de Lempicka, or you don't really get the whole genre but wouldn't mind hearing a bit about it, I hope this series meets all of your needs. I want to make you stop and think about the way we all subconsciously absorb gender roles when it comes to art, hearing about countless exhibitions by revered male painters who encounter females as models but not as competition. I want you to question why there have to be separate awards for men and women in today's society, such as the MaxMara Art Prize for Women. </p>
<p>Being a feminist and an art lover is somewhat tricky; the two things don't really meet in the middle as much as I would like, and that's essentially what sparked my interest in writing about the topic for Bitch. I was one of those kids who liked doodling and could be left with the crayons for a whole day, which later meant that I took art at college, spent large portions of my week visiting galleries, and continued to express myself through drawing and illustration. However I was disheartened to find that, since childhood, 99% of my studies of art have been male-focused and that women artists are often dealt with as a separate category, even in 2011. We have our own categories in art history textbooks and few of our number can dream of moving into the mainstream market. Yet what do we all so often find ourselves staring at when we view art from the last few centuries (aside from that cliché of the still life painting with fruit bowl), but a naked female body? We were raised on a diet of luscious ladies, right from the paleolithic Venus of Willendorf statue that was made up to 24,000 years ago, her plump and clothing-free body preserved in stone. She's a beacon of fertility and feminine beauty, but she's also vulnerable, exposed and judged. The eyes of men, and indeed self-conscious women, haven't really stopped engaging with lovely lady lumps ever since. </p>
<p>It's fair to say that art history would be a pretty dull place if you ignored every single example of a woman's form, so we're obviously a part of the phenomenon—just the part that many assume can pose but not actively participate. I want to redress the balance as much as possible, by looking at the iconic women who are involved in the art industry, whether they are the creatives, the muses or the promoters. I also want to question—as the Guerrilla Girls have been doing for years—why so many leading progressive galleries and museums claim to display the world's greatest art, yet they rarely mention contributions by females or artists of color. On a recent visit to France I was given a leaflet about the wonders of the Pompidou Centre in Paris, but none of the artworks they deemed must-sees were dreamt up by a female, and it made me feel really embittered that nobody had even attempted to add in the token girl. It was obviously not a concern of the Pompidou's PR department, but I think it should be. Of course I'm not going assume that every woman artist is a feminist who dreams of equality, or that every male is a chauvinist pig (because that would be a massive generalization), but I will present you with some women worthy of being role models. I want you to see images that make you feel empowered, not marginalized or inferior. Hopefully I'll be showing you a more enlightened and inspirational view of art by exploring the female contribution; maybe it'll give you the urge to pick up a pen or some clay and see where it leads. </p>
<p>By the way, if there's a kick-ass female or feminist artist that you'd like to see In the Frame, please let me know (I'm not trying to get you to write the blog for me, honest—I just value your opinions and your own knowledge of the topic, because I know there are so many unsung heroines of art that they need to be rescued from obscurity). </p>
http://bitchmagazine.org/post/great-artists-i-demand-a-recount#commentsartart historygender rolesTamara de Lempickathe female nudeVenus of WillendorfArt and DesignTue, 01 Nov 2011 18:40:24 +0000Polly Allen13401 at http://bitchmagazine.orgOn Staring: Talking about art, disability studies, and the way we look.http://bitchmagazine.org/post/on-staring-talking-about-art-disability-studies-and-the-way-we-look
<p><center><img src="/sites/default/files/2_Swim2.jpg" width="395" height="500" alt="A painting of a woman's profile. She is facing left and wearing a green tank top. She has a red and gold beach towl wrapped around her head in a way that looks very majestic. She has down's syndrome and a small tattoo of the outline of a heart on her arm. This painting is described in the interview." /><br />
<i>"Swim 2" from "16 Portraits" by Chris Rush</i></center></p>
<p>Professor Ann M. Fox and Jessica Cooley have now curated two art shows addressing disability. The first, <a href="http://www2.davidson.edu/academics/acad_depts/galleries/reformations/index.html">Re/Formations</a> featured five women artists exploring the intersections of female identity and disability--the first art show of its kind to do so through sculpture. More recently, they wrapped up <a href="http://www3.davidson.edu/cms/x37751.xml">STARING</a>, which was based off of the book <i><a href="http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Communication/VisualCommunication/?view=usa&amp;ci=9780195326802">Staring: How We Look</a></i> by Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, one of the leading scholars in disability studies. The works in STARING address issues of representation, visibility, and empowerment....not unlike feminism. It featured artwork from <a href="http://dougauld.com/splash.php">Doug Auld</a> and <a href="http://www.chrisrushartist.com/">Chris Rush</a>, among others.<br />
<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="350" height="24" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" src="http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.commercial-3.0.5.swf" w3c="true" flashvars='config={"key":"#$b6eb72a0f2f1e29f3d4","playlist":[{"url":"http://www.archive.org/download/FeministAndDisabilityStudiesWithAnnFoxAndJessicaCooley/Staring.mp3","autoPlay":false}],"clip":{"autoPlay":true},"canvas":{"backgroundColor":"0x000000","backgroundGradient":"none"},"plugins":{"audio":{"url":"http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.audio-3.0.3-dev.swf"},"controls":{"playlist":false,"fullscreen":false,"gloss":"high","backgroundColor":"0x000000","backgroundGradient":"medium","sliderColor":"0x777777","progressColor":"0x777777","timeColor":"0xeeeeee","durationColor":"0x01DAFF","buttonColor":"0x333333","buttonOverColor":"0x505050"}},"contextMenu":[{"Listen+to+FeministAndDisabilityStudiesWithAnnFoxAndJessicaCooley+at+archive.org":"function()"},"-","Flowplayer 3.0.5"]}'> </embed><br />
<a href="/sites/default/files/bitch_podcast_transcription_staring.pdf">Transcript available for download</a></p>
http://bitchmagazine.org/post/on-staring-talking-about-art-disability-studies-and-the-way-we-look#commentsart historyDavidson collegedisabilitydisability studiesperson with disabilitiesre/formationsrepresentationStaringFeminist PodcastThu, 04 Feb 2010 19:04:02 +0000Kjerstin Johnson2797 at http://bitchmagazine.org